The Final Ingredient
by the night that never ends
Summary: Pikachu and Togepi are in a strange world. How did they get there? How can they get home? Weird creatures are chasing them... What do these creatures want? Chap. 5 finally up!
1. Chapter 1

Hi everybody! I just wanted to let you know that for this story, when the pokemon talk to each other in "poke language", I'm using a +. So, humans, for example would hear "Pikachu!" from a pikachu, but other pokemon might hear, +Hi, how are you!+. After the second chapter it might not be too confusing. I just needed to clear that up. Also, I don't own Pokemon: The T.V. series, the games, or the comic/manga or anything associated with it. I don't own Buffy the vampire slayer either. O.K., chapter one:

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"**PIIIIKKAAA!" Pikachu screamed as he ran, avoiding the strange sort-of human-looking thing. He yet again pondered how he had come to this unusual, cold, dark place when only about an hour ago he had been on a crowded sunny beach with Ash and his friends. Thinking back as best he could, he remembered entering the water after Misty's Psyduck to protect him from drowning. A wave had crashed on the two and had sent them farther out to sea.**

** Misty had gone out to help (it was her Psyduck after all) and Pikachu remembered Togepi's pokeball floating out of her pocket. Luckily, he caught it before it had sunk to the bottom. The details of what happened after that, Pikachu was unsure of. Togepi was here waiting for him, and at the moment, was a bit safer than he was.**

**He turned to face the thing. His little red cheeks sparked as he prepared to use Thunder, one of the most powerful attacks a Pikachu can learn. "CHHUUU!" he yelled as he let loose enough energy to light a small town directly at the creature.**

**The odd creature gazed back at him for a moment and its eyes met his. "PI!," The small electric rodent suddenly felt chilled to the bone. But, his Thunder attack had worked. The creature was down for the count. Then, without warning, something attacked from behind! "CHA!" Pikachu screamed again as the "something" got up and walked in front of him. "Togee Togeee !"**

**Pikachu was scared, and although he didn't mean to, he lashed out at the innocent baby. +Togepi, I thought I told you not to follow me! I don't have any idea where we are or what's happened to Ash and the others or even what this thing is! I need you to stay put until I figure this out! +**

**He regretted saying it the instant it escaped his lips. Tears began to form in the younger pokemon's eyes. +Does this mean Pika's mad at Togee? Togee sorry!"+**

**Pikachu instantly softened. +No Togee, I'm not mad. I'm just scared. It's already dark and we haven't found Ash or the others yet. Come here. + He sat on a rock and motioned for Togepi to sit beside him.**

**Drying the remainder of his tears, Togepi moved toward the rock. +Togee is hungry. + He informed the electric pokemon. "Pika!" Pikachu wasn't sure if he trusted the things in this place enough to let Togepi eat them. 'Maybe if I ask a friendly pokemon, they'll let me know what's good to eat.' he decided. To the youngster, he said +Togee, we just have to go a little farther and I'll find something, O.K.?+**

**+Can Togee eat this?+ Togepi held up something that resembled an apple.**

**+Pi?+ Pikachu took it and sniffed. It certainly smelled like an apple. He considered it a moment, then broke it open. It had 5 seeds, like an apple. He tasted it. It tasted like an apple.**

**+O.K.+ he said, determining that it was, it fact an apple. +But I have to break it more first and take out the seeds.+**

**A few minutes later, Togepi was munching happily on the apple pieces. Pikachu leaned back on a comfy patch of grass and determined the next course of action.**

O.K., I know this chapter was kinda short. I'll try to make the next one longer. Please R&R. Not too harshly though please. This is only my second story. Thanks for reading :). Chapter 2 coming soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Pikachu woke and stretched. The sun was out. Its rays bathing everything in brilliant light. There was a small form in the shape of an egg cuddled up next to him. Pikachu smiled at Togepi's sleeping form. He decided however that it would be good to keep moving. He could find a town and dial the number of Misty's new cell phone. **

**Of course, he was aware that to a human, all of his words sounded as if he were uttering "Pikachu" over and over. But he was sure he was the only Pikachu in the world that knew the number.**

**He reached over and gently shook Togepi awake. +Togee, we have to get going. We have to make it to a town today.+**

**Togepi yawned. +O.K. Pika.+ And the two set off in search of the closest town.**

**Pikachu didn't have a watch, but he estimated they had been walking about 45 minutes by the time they reached the place where cars refueled. There was a large sign out front that read "Mobil".**

"**Cha!" he exclaimed aloud as they entered the minimart. He examined some of the things on the shelves. Togepi glanced around and saw something under the bottom shelf. +Togee!+ he exclaimed as he presented it to Pikachu.**

**Pikachu saw that the object Togepi had found looked like a man's wallet. Maybe someone had dropped it. He looked around. There was one person in the aisle. He tugged on his pant leg.**

"**Pika," he said to further get the man's attention.**

**The man looked down. "Huh? Ahh! Wil? Wil get over here. There's a rat! And I-I think it's sick, maybe rabid, cause it's all yellow-ey.**

**Pikachu could tell that this man was frightened of him. He didn't want to scare him further, so he held out a paw and gave a cheery "Pika!" Unfortunately this only seemed to upset the man more.**

**A woman entered the aisle then. "Xander, I don't think it's a rat.**

"**Well, whatever it is, it's still creepy!" The man told her. "I'm outta here!" he moved to leave the aisle.**

"**Oh, but look. This little guy found your wallet." She reached for it and Togepi handed it to her. "Thank you." She said. "Here, as thanks, let me buy you a snack. Go ahead; you can both pick something out. **

**Togepi walked up to the woman, Wil, as the man had called her, and nuzzled her hand. "Togee Toge!" he said happily.**

**Pikachu walked over and sniffed her hand. He decided that she was ok, and they could trust her. He was unsure about her friend though. He turned and saw Togepi reaching for something labeled "Fruit Snacks." There was a big picture of a strawberry on the box. **

"**You can get something too you know," she said from behind him. "I don't mind."**

**From the front counter, her friend called to her. "Wil, come on!"**

"**Pikachu!" Pikachu suddenly remembered to ask about where he was. "Pika pika chu pika chaaaa?" he said in a rush. Wil picked up on the fact that the yellow animal was worried about something.**

"**Okay, um, I'm really not supposed to do this, but I think you're in trouble and I want to help." She knelt down close to the two pokémon, and began chanting in a strange language.**

**The electric pokémon felt an odd surge of energy go through him. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Togepi was climbing to a high shelf. "Togee, no!" he yelled, and rushed to help him.**

"**Pika, Togee be fine." Togee said as he climbed higher still. "Want cookie."**

"**There you go," Wil said, "Now we can understand each other."**

"**What?" Pikachu said, focused on Togepi.**

**Seeing that Togepi had ventured high onto a shelf, Willow picked him up. Just moments before Togepi would have fallen; he was able to snatch the pack of cookies.**

**It had taken him a minute, but Pikachu realized he could now speak directly to humans in their own language. "So, you can understand us now?" he asked, to be sure.**

"**Yeah. I thought it might make things a little easier."**

"**Will we be home soon Pika? Togee misses Mommy." Pikachu knew that the young pokémon had never been away from Misty this long before.**

"**As soon as Pika can figure some things out Togee." He tried to reassure him. The truth was he didn't know how they had gotten there or how they could return. Their trainers were probably sick with worry for them by now.**

"**So, I was wondering," Wil began again "You two seem kind of lost. Is there anything else I could do to help?"**

"**Actually, do you maybe know where I can find a phone?" Pikachu asked. "You see….."**

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O.K., that chapter was a little short too. I hope everybody enjoyed it though. I think I'll upload chapter 3 now too since it's done. And besides that, I might forget if I don't. :) Anyhow, please R&R.


	3. Chapter 3

**An hour later, Pikachu and Togepi arrived at a house with Willow and Xander. It turned out, Willow had a cell phone with her, but when Pikachu told her the number to reach Misty, it hadn't worked. So, the pokémon had decided to follow their newest friends home. Maybe they could help them find their trainers. It had been a short walk from the gas station, and Willow had called ahead to tell her other friends about the pokémon.**

**Pikachu had explained too about the events leading up to their meeting. Willow had determined that the creature that had chased him in the forest had been a 'vampire'. He wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but he guessed it was something bad. It sounded like a Zubat, from her description, but a very mean one. And apparently, this city was a hotspot for vampire activity. And that meant there would be more of them. But, Willow had explained, they can never come out in the daylight because it will burn them.**

**Also, the vampires could not enter homes without permission from someone. 'Why would anyone invite such a mean creature into their home?' Pikachu had wondered. He didn't have much time to think, however, because they were entering the house. **

**A young girl was talking with a man and an older girl. "I'm just saying that maybe he's a demon. Even you have to admit it could be true!"**

"**Dawn, I find it very hard to believe your math teacher is…. how'd she word it?" the man turned to the older girl.**

"**A demonic maniac born from the pits of Hell itself." The older girl supplied helpfully.**

"**I don't know Buff, Xander suddenly chimed in, remember Principal Snyder?"**

"**Um, guys," Willow said, "I think someone would like to say hello." She pointed downward.**

"**Hi." Pikachu said.**

**Willow explained the situation to her friends. "We have to help them get home." She concluded.**

**Dawn walked over and picked up Togepi. "They're so cute! Can't we keep them?"**

"**They already have owners, and we have to help find them." Willow told her.**

"**Trainers," Pikachu corrected through nibbles of his potato chips.**

"**What are they exactly?" The man- Giles- asked.**

"**They call themselves "Pokémon." Willow informed him.**

**Buffy spoke up for the first time. "O.K., last I checked, animals couldn't talk. How is it they're speaking English?"**

"**Willow helped us." Pikachu said. Willow, meanwhile was shaking her head vigorously at him.**

"**Wil, you know you shouldn't use magic…"Dawn said tiredly, as if they'd gone over this subject many times before.**

"**I had to figure out some way to help them. Willow told them defensively.**

"**In any case, we can understand them now. And perhaps that's for the best at the moment." Giles said. "Did they happen to mention where they're from?**

"**They said they travel around with their own-- trainers, and they said they were staying in a place in a Hearthome city."**

"**I've never heard of a Hearthome city, is it close by?" Xander asked.**

"**I don't think so." Pikachu said while helping Togepi open his cookies.**

"**Can you describe how you got here?" Buffy asked Pikachu.**

"**No, I just remember waking up here and that thing chasing me."**

"**What thing?" Dawn asked him.**

"**A vampire." Willow said. Why was he chasing you anyway?**

"**He said something like, 'Come here, rodent, you're the last ingredient." Pikachu explained. "It made me mad, I'm not a rodent!"**

"**He does look like a rat though, I mean…"**

"**Xander!" Buffy scolded.**

"**Actually", Willow began, "Pika-chu probably means "related to the pika. And pikas are more closely related to rabbits than rodents."**

"**How does she know these things?" Xander wondered.**

"**Ok, so we know the vamps are up to something. It could be a spell of some kind, and he's the last ingredient." Buffy pointed to Pikachu as she spoke. "That means we have to keep him safe and stop the vamps at the same time. Plans?"**

"**If we were able to send him home, they wouldn't be able to get to him." Dawn said happily.**

"**Yes, but, what's stopping them from somehow bringing him back?" Giles countered.**

"**You think those "vampires" brought us here?" Pikachu asked, surprised. "If they only needed me then why bring Togee?"**

"**Maybe, um, Togee, is it? Perhaps he was very near you when the spell hit." Giles suggested.**

"**Yeah," Willow said, "Togepi might've been standing next to you or something, and got hit by the spell too!"**

"**Wait, are you guys sure it's a magic spell?" Pikachu asked. "I mean, couldn't they have done something else?"**

"**Togee….." After he'd eaten about 5 cookies, Togepi began to get sleepy. He cuddled up into the carpet, and went to sleep.**

"**Awww! He's soo cute! Are you sure we can't keep them?" Dawn asked Willow.**

**Just then there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it." Buffy said. She hopped up from the couch and went to the door.**

"**Hello, love," Said a familiar voice.**


	4. Chapter 4

Hi, sorry it's been so long since I've updated. But, here's chapter 4 at long last! Enjoy and please review. :)

I don't own Pokemon or Buffy the vampire slayer.

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"What are you doing here?" Buffy demanded.

"Well, I thought I'd stop by, watch the big game, and maybe throw back a few cold ones with some old friends…

Buffy crossed her arms.

"Or… I came to explain about why the guys were after the rat…"

"It's not a rat, Spike, unlike some certain undead things around here. And, it has a name."

"Ow, that one hurt slayer! I'm not sure a stake through the heart would've caused so much pain as …." Spike doubled over as if he were in actual pain.

"Wanna find out?" Buffy threatened.

Spike straightened. "Well, if that's how you act when a friend stops by to warn you…"

Inside, Pikachu heard the banter. It reminded him of how Ash and Misty acted at times. His ears perked up. "Pika!" he gasped. Somehow he got the feeling something wasn't right.

The door burst open then. "What the—Xander began.

"Talk." Buffy ordered Spike.

"Well, that's just lovely. Invite me into your home for the first time in months, and there's no, "Hey, Spike. How ya been, or gee Spike, nice to see you….."

"Just talk." Buffy said, exasperated before she shoved him down on the couch.

"The story goes like this: For hundreds of years the vampire has been a feared creature. The vampire is feared- in part- because of their immortality. It should be that a vampire is forever- nothing can kill us, stop us, or slow us down. But humans have found ways to trick us, to zap our strength, or even kill us." Spike produced an ancient book from the inside of his jacket. "There, you see, I'm not all bad. And seeing as how I literally risked life and limb to help my friends, I think I deserve some sort of reward."

Buffy grabbed the book. "Volume 57: Vampyr." She read from the faded cover.

Giles sat forward then. "Could this be the… the missing volume…"

"Yeah, it looks like it fits snugly between volumes 56 and 58." Xander observed.

"Page 39," Spike told them, "Second paragraph. That's where it starts."

"The ne'er kill vampires spell," Buffy continued. "Catchy!" "Let's see, some words in an ancient nonsense language… yada, yada… oh, OK, The ingredients." She scanned the page. "Brussels sprouts?"

"I knew they had to be good for something." Xander joked, smiling.

"Cream of tartar…. Eye of newt? There's an actual 'Eye of newt?" she asked incredulously.

"Oh, yes, didn't you know love," Spike grinned. "You can actually buy it now in a powder form. Way less messy if you ask me…."

"Go on," Dawn urged.

"Artichoke hearts, yeast, yada yada yada….. and last but not least, a Pikachu.

"There's more than one of them?" Xander asked.

"Yeah," Pikachu told him. "And there's more Togepi too. There're almost 500 different types of pokemon, I think. He began ticking them off on his fingers. "The ones I've met… let's see, there's Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charmander, Pidgey … oh, and some of them evolve too! Charmander, for example, evolves…."

"Lovely," Spike snorted. "I come here to discuss important issues, and we're playing 'Who's that Pokémon!'"

"So, then, this would be something for the vampires to ingest." Giles observed.

"That would be correct, ol' man." Spike told him. "And as of now, the "soup", tastes rather like old sweat socks, and if anyone asks how I would know that, I'll bite them. Hard. Chip or no chip.

And you wouldn't believe how fussy the cooks are, a bunch of old mother hens would be the best comparison. Always saying things like, 'It's not ready yet', or 'get out of my kitchen!' I consider myself rather lucky to have made off with the recipe right from under their noses."

"So, what we need to do is destroy the recipe and dump their soup." Buffy said. "Sounds easy enough."

"I don't think destroying the um, recipe would be for the best. Perhaps we can devise a counter-spell from it." Giles said thoughtfully.

"We won't need one if we ruin the vamps' dinner." Buffy protested.

"Have a heart, slayer. You're always ruining our dinner. Without the mouse over here, it's still alright to eat-if you like that old sweat sock aftertaste."

Pikachu knew when he was being made fun of. "Pika!" he said to Spike, and held out a paw. When Spike took it, Pikachu let a thundershock fly.

When he was done sparking, Buffy picked him up. "You and I are gonna be best friends!" She said with a smile.

"What was that?" Xander cried.

"He told us that all pokémon have special powers, remember?" Willow looked pointedly at him.

"Yeah, but, Wow!" he raved. "That was way brighter than any lightning I've ever seen!"

"It was a thundershock." Pikachu said calmly. Then, he went on to explain how pokémon's powers increased as they reached higher levels. "For instance," he went on, I'm almost at level 80, so my attacks have a lot of power. But Togee is only around level 15, so his 'headbutt' attack would be about like this." Again, he demonstrated on Spike.

"Did I say 'best friends'?" Buffy asked. "I meant 'super best friends'!

Spike was regaining consciousness. "Did anyone, perhaps, take down the number of that storm?" he asked woozily. "Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you, the other vampires are using another spell from the book. It's a transportation spell, and if I recall, it's on page 108.

"That's how they brought these guys here." Dawn realized. "Maybe we could send them home the same way."

"You see, there are no 'Pikachu' in our dimension- they exist in a sort-of cartoon land. On another planet-if you will. They can however be brought into our world through the use of magic and such.

"So you brought him here just to use in your stupid spell?" Buffy demanded, getting angry.

"Take it easy, love. I didn't bring it here. I have to admit though; I don't think he'd make the soup taste all that much better," he chuckled.

"Pika…" the yellow pokémon prepared to attack again. His cheeks began to spark.

"Well, I suppose that'll be all for now. I wouldn't want to irritate our little lightening rod further. It's been lovely catching up and all with everyone though. Don't bother getting up, I can let myself out. Ta-ta!" And with that, he was gone.

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Please let me know if the paragraphs were too close together. I'm not quite sure about that.

I'll try to update again soon too. Thanks for reading :) .


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

**The next morning…**

"**Ok Dawn, Willow and I have a few errands to run. We need you to stay here with Xander and the pokémon." Buffy told her. "We shouldn't be long."**

"**No problem. I think Togepi's growing on me anyhow."**

"**What makes you say that?" Buffy asked.**

"**Oh, I don't know…" She looked down to see Togepi hugging her ankle. "Just a hunch."**

**"We'll be back soon." Buffy promised. She walked out the back door and was gone.**

**Something peeked out from the bushes near the Summers' house. "The coast is clear." A voice proclaimed.**

**"Well, it's about time!" A different voice whined. "I almost lost this weird bottle cap I found. A person with blue hair reached into his pocket and pulled out the cap to look at it once more. He ran his fingers across the letters. C-O-K-E. It was a mystery. In all his years studying and collecting bottle caps, he'd never once encountered a "COKE". He guessed it was a Pokemon thing. Pokè. Cokè. Yeah, that had to be it.**

**"James!" A smack to the side of his head told him that Jessie was awake. "Quit daydreaming and start thinking of a way to capture Pikachu!"**

**James laughed. "I'm one step ahead of you today. You see, while you two were dreaming, I was busy dreaming up the most ingenious plan ever. Ok, first, we sneak into the house. Then when Pikachu takes a nap, as I've observed him doing at least once every day, we trap him in this wooden crate." He produced a crate from seemingly out of nowhere. "Because as everyone knows, wood does not conduct electricity. Then, we sneak him out of the house and back to the boss."**

**"Wait-" Meowth began.**

**"It's positively brilliant!" Jessie exclaimed, cutting Meowth off. And they went about trying to break into the house.**

**Pikachu was a bit bored. He missed Ash and the others. And these humans, although they were very nice, didn't know about training Pokemon and keeping them happy and healthy. He went to find Togepi to take him outside for some exercise. He found him in the living room, watching TV with Dawn and Xander. **

**"Hey, Togee, how about we go outside for awhile and play?" he asked.**

**"In a minute, Pika. Togee want to see what happen on..." He looked at Dawn for help. "What it called?"**

**"Wishbone."**

**"Togee like!" He scooted over a bit. "Pika watch." He patted the couch next to him.**

**Pikachu reluctantly climbed up and sat next to him. The show was over soon and the four of them walked outside.**

**"Ok Togee," Pikachu said. "How about you show Dawn a Tackle attack?"**

**"What Togee tackle?" The young Pokemon asked innocently.**

**"You can tackle me." Pikachu replied.**

**"Togee not hurt Pika?"**

**"No. Pika's tough!" Pika balled his paws into little fists and flexed his muscles.**

**"Ok." Togepi said, laughing. He imitated Pikachu by making little fists, then tackled without warning.**

**"Wow!" Pikachu exclaimed. "That was a good tackle! I think you might have grown another level." He fell backward for emphasis.**

**Togepi walked over and climbed ontop of Pikachu's belly. He clenched his little fists again and growled cutely. "Togee win! Togee win!" He sang.**

**"There he is." Meowth whispered. Pikachu and Togepi had practiced for half an hour and were settling down on the couch for a late afternoon nap.**

**"Are you ready?" Jessie asked.**

**"Are you set?" James wondered.**

**"Then let's go!" Meowth exclaimed, popping up between the two.**

**The trio crept into the house carefully. Soon, they were standing next to Pikachu. They scooped him up and encaged him within the crate. They were about to open the door when voices were heard from the other side. Before they could react, the door opened and there stood Buffy and Willow.**

**"We got company." Meowth informed his friends. Immediately, the two humans stood up taller.**

**"Prepare for trouble."Jessie chanted.**

**"And make it double." James chimed.**

**"To protect the world from devastation."**

**"To unite all peoples within our nation."**

**"To denounce the evils of truth and love."**

**"To extend our reach to the stars above."**

**"Jessie!"**

**"James!"**

**"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"**  
**  
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"**

**"Meowth! That's right!"**

**"I believe you've got our friend." Buffy said. She took a fighting stance.**

**"Togeee?" Togepi woke suddenly, and rubbed his eyes.**

**"No, see... This is our pokemon." James told Buffy, as if nothing were wrong. "We've been worried sick over him and..."**

**"And we heard he was here!" Jessie finished. "No harm done! We'll just be leaving now!" She flashed Buffy a smile, and turned and ran out the door.**

**"Vampires?" Willow asked.**

**"They don't really look like vampires." Buffy shrugged. "Kick butt now. Find out later."**

**"Toge, Togee, Toge." Since he was being ignored, he amused himself by waggling his little hands and chanting.**

**Just as Buffy prepared to fight, there was an explosion! This of course, sent Team Rocket "blasting off", and freed Pikachu from his temporary wooden prison.**

**Everyone looked around in confusion. Togepi smiled and settled down to continue his nap.**


End file.
